It’s just Manny being Manny. That’s the line on Manny Ramirez, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. Manny did steroids. That’s a bad thing. Manny seems to care only about Manny. That’s not good either. But……Manny gets the big hit…..All the time. The stats show that Manny’s home run to at bat ratio goes way up when the game is on the line and especially in big games and in the playoffs. At the most critical point, when nerves crush most players’ ability to perform, Manny just does his thing. His ability to get big hits in big situations is just incredible. The other night the Dodgers were beating the Phillies in a huge game, about to tie the National League Championship Series. It was the ninth inning and Manny had been taken out for a defensive replacement. With two outs the Phillies came up with a miraculous rally to win the game. Where was Manny? In the shower.



Now a lot of people would say that Manny is a bad teammate and he should have been on the bench cheering his team on. I look at it this way. Manny focused on what he could control. He doesn’t worry about things he can’t control. Out of the game, time to shower. Lost the game, got another one tomorrow. Lose the series, prepare for next year. Manny is one of the best hitters in history because he stays focused on the moment and what he can control. I’m not saying it’s right to take it to the extreme of not supporting your teammates, but in our business where anything can happen to any deal until it is done and the check has cleared, we need to focus on what we can control and keep from wasting time and energy on things we cannot control.





Todd Kmiec

Todd Kmiec & Associates

todd@toddkmiec.com